The Country's Best Bikes and Beers

All of New York's abuzz with word of Brooklyn's newest place to kick back with a beer:Red Lantern Bicycles. Now, with the addition of PBR and Belgian double ales, the store's being called NYC's first bicycle shop/bar/café (the store already sells tea and coffee).

However, Brooklyn isn't the only place you can ride a two-wheeler with a drink in hand. So fear not, cyclists — there are plenty of beers, coffees, and general awesomeness to go around. Our picks for bike-friendly bars and cafés:

Just a few hours away from Brooklyn, Syracuse's Mello Velo (in the hipster Westcott area) serves local coffee beans and loose leaf teas from Ithaca and Schenectady. Kick back upstairs after a long ride with a breakfast sandwich or wrap, too. The shop also sells top-name brands of bikes, used bikes, and custom creations for cyclists. Bonus points: the Hump Day Rump Day spin sessions with trainers, to get your, well, rump in shape.

Asheville, N.C.'s Beer City Bicycles may not have beer on tap, but the bike shop/ training center (called Spin Cycle) is working on getting its liquor license to quench brew lovers' thirst after a ride. Frank Mandaro from the shop tells us he hopes to eventually turn the two-month-old shop into a beer/bike shop. In the meanwhile, you can buy their custom-made $5 pint glass, and wait for more Third Thursday events — March 15's event paired French Broad Brewing with a cycling documentary for a particularly cool night.

Further west, relax after a ride with a Stumptown coffee at Chicago'sHeritage Bicycles. You can watch their production of Heritage and Bowery Lane Bicycles in the café, all while noshing on other local eats.

OK, it's not a true bike riding experience, but at least you have to use your legs on the Pedal Hopper. Located in Denver; Kansas City, M.O.; and Lawrence, Kan.; the Pedal Bar lets you and your friends cruise through town with drinks on hand. While the web site says that legally, open container laws forbid booze on the contraption, we spot a keg on the back of the Pedal Hopper in one photo...

In Hailey, Idaho, the Powerhouse Pub and Stand is a sanctuary for bike lovers. The full-service shop lets you stop by for a beer and a bite; the list of beers on tap and in bottle is a mile long. Bonus: the beer cocktails; the Dirty Hoe (Hoegarden with framboise) looks refreshing after a ride.